


Caught in the Cross Fire

by DCatWalker



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fem!Hiccup, Toothcup, future!Au, humanized!dragons, possible other pairings - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-03-26 17:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3858409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DCatWalker/pseuds/DCatWalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war between the Dragons and Hooligans rages on with Hiccup being the only one who doesn't like to fight. Even though she tries her best to support the Hooligans, she finds herself trying to make peace between the two sides over a Night Fury! A cute one too. So now we have a peace-making girl with the most dangerous Dragon there is. Great. - Toothcup - Fem!Hic - Humanized!Dragons - Future!AU</p><p>Hello my people! So after hours and hours of goofing around in my room and trying to find a good, original plot for a story, I finally settled on this. It's a futuristic AU with humanized dragons, a genderbent Hiccup and, my OTP, Toothcup. Yep. Still sticking with this ship. Absolutely love it. I love Astrid and all - seriously she's awesome -, but Toothcup is just awesome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. War Of Hooligans and Dragons

**Author's Note:**

> I am cross-posting this on fanfiction.net under the username NightFuryOne.

This is Berk. Now I know what you're thinking. Twelve days north of hopeless, a few degrees south of freezing to death and located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. And you're right. All of that is true. But to add on to all this is war between us, the Hairy Hooligans, (don't ask me who came up with that because I have absolutely no idea) and the Dragons. No, they are not actual dragons. Though they do have dragon-like abilities. Their extremely sensitive senses of hearing, sight, and smell; their ability to jump from, say a cliff, and glide onto their target; and their abnormal ability to shoot fire from their hands. That part always freaks me out.

These guys are incredibly strong. But so are we. And stubborn. Seriously, most people would have the common sense to leave, but nope. We, the Hairy Hooligans, decide to stay and fight to our hearts' content.

I, personally, am not fond of this war that's been going on for generations. Unfortunately, the odds of the war ending anytime soon are very slim. So the best thing we can do is fight back and not die.

The school here is different. You still learn the four major subjects: history, English, Math, and science. But the other subject is fighting. From kindergarten to fourth grade, you are taught about weaponry, the names of them, how to use them and how they work. Once you're in intermediate, you can choose to learn how to put everything you learned before and use them in an actual battle or how to build the weapons.

I chose to build the weapons, even though I still learned how to use them. Building the weapons was easier for me since it gave me the freedom of adding adjustments and upgrading the weapons. But really, I'm skinny as a twig and the only weapon I actually can use is my hidden blade. I based it off this video game I played a few years ago. My father said it was really popular when he was my age.

But right now, my weapon isn't going to be of any use. I'm currently sprinting down the road, screams and explosions filling my ears. Of course, we're in the middle of another battle. In the moonlight I see the Dragons gliding in, their hair colored in patterns to symbolize which troop they're in. The Monstrous Nightmares with the dark red or blue/green flame pattern, the Deadly Nadders with exotic colored (mainly blue) spikes, Hideous Zipplebacks with green/red gaseous patterns, Gronckles with varying cool colored boulder shapes, and Terrible Terrors green/yellow arrows.

Each troop has a different fire type. The Monstrous Nightmares fire Kerosene gel, the Deadly Nadders use Magnesium fire, Hideous Zipplebacks useAmmonium Nitrate mixed with Anhydrous Hydrazine, Gronckles use Heptane, Oxygen, and Rocks, and the Terrible Terrors fire propane darts [1].

Yeah. I studied hard on the Dragons. Deal with it.

Oh, right! I never told you my name. Well, it's-

“Hiccup!” my father roars.

That. I know. Weird name for a girl. Especially in this time period.

“Yes?” I call back, turning around to see my father hurtling towards me.

“Move!” He pushes me out of the way just in time to avoid a Deadly Nadder speeding at me like a bullet. My father uses the dragon's speed to his advantage and changes his direction to a brick wall. The dragon lets out a shriek before she goes _splat_ into the wall.

I cringe and push myself to my feet. _Oh that sounded painful,_ I think. My father turns me to the forge and shoves me in that direction.

That man you just saw was my father Stoick. He's a big, burly man with a red, bushy beard and stands at 6'9”. Some say that when he was a baby, he popped a dragon's head clean of his shoulders. Do I believe that? Yes, I do.

“Hiccup, get in here!” Uncle Gobber shouts to me as I slide in through the door to the blacksmith shop. He shuts the door and opens up the window for the other people to exchange new weapons for their damaged ones.

“Sorry I'm late,” I tell him.

“Well, you joined the party, at least. I was starting to think you'd been smuggled away.”

“Wha? Who, me? Nah. I'm waaaay too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all this.” I gesture to my slim figure.

“They need cannon fodder, don't they?”

I stick my tongue out at him and start fixing the damaged weapons.

The meat-head with the attitude and interchangeable hands is my Uncle Gobber. He's the one who teaches people how to make weapons. I'm the only teenager who chose to learn how to make weapons.

“What have we got?” I hear my father ask.

“Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks. Oh, and Hoark saw a Monstrous Nightmare,” one of the troop members replies.

“Any Night Furies?”

“None so far.”

“Good.”

Night Furies are the most feared troop in history. They don't have any marks in their hair. It would give them away. They're stealthy and swift. You never see them until they fire. Their fire is Acetylene and Oxygen, a plasma blast. We don't know much else about them.

I look out the window to see my friends Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Astrid. Their job during the battles is to put out fires. They have to be careful though because no matter what, they are in the line of fire so they really have to know how to defend themselves.

“Alright, let's go!” Astrid shouts, leading the way to one of the major fires.

I try to help them as much as I can from inside the shop. I alert them when I see a dragon behind them and I point out fires. “Astrid, behind you!” I yell.

She quickly whips around, takes her pistol out from its holster and fires a blue laser at the Gronckle in front of her. The laser hits him in the arm, causing him to drop the flaming dagger. She kicks him square in the chest and he promptly retreats. Astrid turns to face me, flashes me a thumbs-up, and returns to her job.

“NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!” a troop member shouts.

A high-pitched screech suddenly pierces the air followed by a plasma blast hitting a watch tower. The tower is set alight and the occupants of the tower jump down before it collapses.

“Man the fort, Hiccup. They need me out there,” Gobber tells me. He attaches an axe to his arm and looks at me. “Stay. Put. There.” I give him a weird look. “You know what I mean.”

He lets out a battle cry and charges out the door. But Gobber knows me. He knows I don't follow orders well.

I go into the back room of the shop and take my gun out from under my desk. I then run out the back door into the battlefield. I go around the backs of houses and come up to the cliff, away from the battle.

I cock my gun and place my finger lightly on the trigger. I scan the skies. It'd be easier for me to shoot a Dragon out of the sky rather than have one charge at me from the ground. I don't want to kill one, of course.

I know it's a long shot, but I need to get that Night Fury out of the sky.

What I've noticed is that the Night Fury always attacks from the sky. Not once has anyone seen a Night Fury touch the ground. And if I can get that Night Fury out of the battle, it may be over quicker and give us more time to repair the damages.

I modified my gun ages back so that it would never be able to kill but would still be able to do a good amount of damage.

I turn on the holo-scope for the gun and aim at the sky. My senses are on high alert, my hearing and sight especially. Night Furies are swift, as I mentioned before, and their blasts are huge. I have to listen and observe carefully.

And lo and behold, a screech tears through the air. This is quickly followed by a powerful plasma blast and a silhouette of a Night Fury moving fast in the sky. I ready my aim. My eyes narrow in concentration.

I pull the trigger.

A bright green laser fires out of the gun, heading right for the Night Fury. A significantly smaller blast erupts along with a pain-filled scream and the Night Fury falling down into the unoccupied forest.

I let out a sigh. “And down goes the Night Fury,” I mutter. I turn around to head back to the shop only to be met with a Monstrous Nightmare standing in my way.


	2. Lo and Behold, Here is the Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit! I am so sorry, guys. I took a way long hiatus for taking a break and starting my own original story. It, however, is not going to be published but this story will be updated. The school year is over and I am starting to get myself back into the flow of things. Anyways, I hope everyone who took their finals did well, and we'll see if I can stay away from the hiatuses (?) as much as possible.

 

** Lo and Behold, Here is the Dragon **

I freeze in my spot, my grip tight on my gun. The Monstrous Nightmare stares me down with a snarl. His eyes are burning with intensity and his hands are lit with fire. I know that I need to get out of here. I try observing my surroundings. I'm stuck near the cliff edge, the Dragon is right in front of me, and there are trees to my right. My only option is to run left and not get blasted off the cliff.

So I run, slinging my gun onto my back.

I can hear heavy footsteps behind me. No one of the village seems to have noticed yet. I keep myself quiet and start rounding corners and slipping into alleys between the homes. The dragon is still catching up with me.

I guess it's time for a test run, I think. I glance back, press a button on my dark green gauntlet, and I jump onto a wall of a home.

The button causes my fingerless gloves to be able to stick to hard surfaces but I've never tested it. It also makes my boots tougher to support the extra movements.

I manage to latch onto the wall and scramble onto the roof. But the dragon climbs up after me. _Great..._ I leap off the roof to the next until I'm sure my dad is in range.

"Heads up!" I shout, absolutely certain my father heard me. His head shoots up at my voice and his eyes widen for just a moment. I flip off of the roof which makes the dragon glide straight towards my father.

The Nightmare screeches before he's kicked square in the head and thrown into a building. Dad nods to me then turns to the rest of the fights, issuing orders left and right.

I breathe out a sigh of relief. "Okay... now back to the shop." Standing and brushing myself off, I run back to the shop, avoiding all other encounters with the Dragons. I sneak in through the back of the shop and see the window packed with damaged weapons. Gobber is outside with a package full of the newly repaired weapons. He's handing them out to unarmed Vikings, allowing this battle to end quicker.

I grab the pile of guns and blades and set to repairing them. Most of the guns used fire lasers. The others fire regular bullets. All the guns, however, have a holographic scope that gives a lock on a target and shows just how far away the target is. A little feature I added in. Then the blades are just normal blades except for that they are extremely thin and are as sharp as a needle. The swords, axes, and maces have been made lighter and more effective. The hidden blade I have is still a work in progress. I need to be testing it more.

Once I've finished repairing the weapons, I put them on the rack to see the last of the dragons gliding away from Berk. Cheers erupt from everyone. My father swings his axe in a circle as he laughs with relief. "Well done, everyone!" he shouts.

I look around the area. Everyone's focused on my dad so that gives me an opportunity to find that Night Fury. I jump into the back room, grabbing my forest green backpack filled with my journal, a couple books, my hidden blade, and my phone. With my bag now on my back, I quietly push the back door open and make a break for the woods.

A sigh escapes me for what seems like the hundredth time. I've been walking around in the woods, undisturbed. I haven't seen a sign of the Night Fury. not even after an hour. No footprints, no skid marks, no yellow brick road.

I yank my phone out of my pocket to scan for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. I shove it back in my pocket. A ringing suddenly starts in my head and I groan. Really? Again? I slap the back of my neck multiple times to make the ringing stop.

While I'm doing that, the smell of smoke reaches me, clamping around my nose. I stop in my tracks to try and locate to source of the smell. I start walking around as the smell becomes stronger until I'm met with the sight of a smoldered tree, snapped at the trunk.

"What in the love of?" I ask, walking up and putting my hand against the fallen tree. I drop my bag onto the dampened ground. The tree is leaning on a slope which causes it to lie out flat. The ground, damp from the previous rainstorm, has marks engraved in the ground. They look like skid marks. Surrounding those marks is the smoked dirt. Twigs and leaves lie scattered across the area all burnt to hell.

I start following the marks on the ground that lead over the slope. They become more and more pronounced as I go along. I raise my eyes from the ground to see a lump in front of me. It's a human, by the looks of it. He's curled in on himself (my guess to protect the junk.) His black leather jacket caked in mud, and his dark jeans shredded; his boots are dirty and scuffed. His hair isn't visible to me.

With the thought of his safety in mind, I clear my throat for his attention. He raises his head with his face still hidden. While his shaggy black hair covered with dirt, it doesn't stop me from seeing a barely visible and unfamiliar pattern in gray. It resembles a lightning bolt.

_Is that..._  I wonder silently as I step forward. My unfortunate foot finds the placement of a slightly smoked twig that still makes a soft crack under my boot. The person in front of me hears the crack and he leaps to his feet, his face finally visible to me. His intense green eyes find mine but I still see him set his hands aflame. Yep, I think, this is a Dragon and he is mad. I guess I would be, too, given the circumstances.

I scan him over. The midnight blue shirt he wears under his jacket covered in grass and mud stains. Scars, bruises, and sparks cover his body while his face shows a few dark green circuits just beneath his ears. Though the visible circuits seem to be causing a bit of discomfort.

He takes a step forward and instantly after that, a high pitch whine blasts in my head. I slap the back of my neck a couple times which is enough to set him off the edge. He charges and tackles me to the ground, the whine becoming louder. One of his arms, thankfully without the fire, shoves up against my neck while he holds his other arm out threateningly. His knee drives into my stomach.

For a few moments, the only noise I can hear is the freaking loud whining. Then, the Night Fury warbles something I can't understand, only that it makes the sound louder. He shakes his head, as if to rid it of something. He focuses on me after that and seems to be scanning me.

Before my brain can catch up, he suddenly smirks at me, warbles something, then takes off to the trees where I don't see anything of him. At a loss for words, I slap the back of my neck in an attempt to stop the ringing but it only barely lessens it. Soon after, I black out from either fright or plain exhaustion. Maybe both.

When my eyes decide to cooperate and open, I see the moon staring right back at me. I feel dazed but soon my brain catches up and the previous events flood my mind.

I take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself.  _Okay. So I want to guess that was the Night Fury I shot. But I thought they didn't have patterns in their hair? Well, we've never seen them up close so I can understand why we would think they didn't have any patterns. But he also... maybe tried to say something to me. Fantastic._

I sit myself up slowly, my head buzzing and a vibration in the back of my head. I think nothing of it as I look around for my way out. Finding the trail of footprints I left, I let them lead me back to the village.

_Dad is going to be so mad,_ I tell myself.  _I never stay out this long. Maybe if I just stay as quiet as possible, I can get away with this. He may not even be back yet._ That thought provides little comfort.

It doesn't take long for me to reach my house. I can't see any lights on at the moment but my dad may just have the fireplace going. He may even be sharpening his sword right now. Quietly, I open the door. As I peek in, I only see the fireplace burning and my father kneeling in front of it, a constant  _clang_  ringing throughout the house.  _Good. Distracted. Stealthily now, Hic._ Shutting the door as silently as possible, I tip-toe to the staircase, hoping to anyone or anything watching out there would be on my side.

"Hiccup," my father says.

Unfortunately, no one is on my side tonight.

"Dad!" I yelp, hunching in my position with my foot barely on the first step. I sigh, relaxing my stance. "Uh, hey Dad. What's up?" I step over to the smoldering fire as Dad stands himself up.

"We need to have a talk."  _Uh oh._ "I have decided that you should start training to fight against the Dragons."

_Wait... What?_ "Uh, Dad? Can you repeat that please?"

My dad breathes heavily. "You are going to train to fight the Dragons."

I pinch the bridge of my nose, groaning.  _You're kidding me right now._ "Dad, there's no way! I chose to  _make_ weapons, not  _use_ them!"

Dad, choosing to ignore my words, grabs my gauntlets and unsheathes the hidden blades. "You will use these. You're best with stealth. Use that in the training arena. Good?"

"Hold on, for a sec. Why-?"

"Are we clear?" he asks in a sterner voice.

I stare at him for a moment, a million thought processes running through my brain, none of them comprehensible. I sigh in defeat. I know there's no way I can win this argument. I know where I get my stubbornness from and his part is much denser than mine. "Crystal," I mutter.

"Good. Get a good night's rest. I'm going out for another raid, see if we can lessen their attacks. I expect good things from you, Hiccup. We may be able to get some use out of those hover-boards you designed."

It makes me feel just slightly better that he's considering using my inventions. "Okay. If you do use them, don't lean too far forward. You'll end up going upside down and backwards. It is so not fun."

He gives me a hearty laugh, patting me roughly on the shoulder. "That's the spirit. Now go on and go to bed. You'll have a long day ahead of you. We'll be back soon, Hiccup." With that, he grabs his pack, shoulders it and heads out the door.

"Bye, Dad. Be careful!" He nods, smiles, and closes the door behind him. I undo my gauntlets sluggishly as I trudge up the stairs into my room. I shove off my vest and my boots and fall face-first into my bed, the ringing in my head lulling me to sleep.


	3. Learning on the Job

**Learning on the Job**

"Welcome to Dragon Training!" Gobber shouts to us as the double black door slides open, revealing the spacious training room. The white tiled walls and the solid black floor are littered with weapon and shield racks. Most of the weapons and shields visible are some of my own high-tech inventions. At the far wall, there are five black doors, most likely the cells for the Dragons held captive here. I don't particularly approve of how we're holding them all captive like this but nothing I can do about that at the moment. The ceiling of the training room is clear, making the arena visible to anyone interested.

Ahead of me, the other five teens talk about gruesome scars and marks. Astrid holds her axe proudly, hiking it onto her shoulder. Fishlegs holds his hammer close to his chest.; Snotlout attempts to be cool by swinging his sword and instead bonks the flat side against his head; Ruffnut and Tuffnut both wield swords as well but they prefer to use those for whacking each other instead of the actual target. Very rarely do you get the twins to concentrate.

I, on the other hand, rub my gauntlets self-consciously. Visibly unarmed to the others, I feel like I won't be able to do any of this training like most do which usually involves brutally injuring the Dragons we fight.  _I guess I can just sneak around, keep out of sight as much as possible._

"Hi, Hiccup," Fishlegs says as he pops beside me.

"Ack!" I yelp, jumping into a fighting stance and whipping out my hidden blades. I'm very confused for a moment before I realize what's happening. "Oh, uh, sorry Fishlegs." I sheathe my blades and return to my normal stance. "You startled me."

"Sorry. You just seemed a little nervous so I wanted to check on you. Besides, I'm not one for listening to Astrid wishing for mauling. Man, she's intense."

I relax, letting out a small laugh. "No kidding. You should see her when she gets really excited. That is intense. Right now is normal Astrid."

"It's true!" Astrid calls from in front of us, shooting us a sly grin.

"Alright, alright. Enough chatter!" Gobber hushes us and puts us in a line facing him. "Today, you will begin you first day of Dragon training. Now, as I tell you what Dragons we have behind these doors, I want you to listen intently and keep whatever comments you have under your breath. I'm talking to you, Fishlegs."

A sheepish chuckle comes from the larger boy.

"So these are the dragons. The Deadly Nadder."

"Speed: eight, firepower: fifteen," Fishlegs mutters just loud enough for me to hear.

"The Hideous Zippleback."

"Plus eleven stealth times two."  _Stealthy dragon, eh?_

"The Monstrous Nightmare."

"Firepower: fifteen."

"The Terrible Terror."

"Attack: eight, venom: twelve."

"And the Gronckle!"

"Jaw strength: eight."

"Alright! Those are the dragons. Here comes the Gronckle!"

"Hold on a second!" Snotlout interjects. "Aren't you going to teach us?"

"May I?" I ask, looking to Gobber. A confirming nod comes from him and I turn to face my cousin. "Gobber believes in learning on the job. I can speak from experience."

"That's right, lassie! And learn on the job, you shall do again." Without any further hesitation, Gobber taps the black panel on the left of the door and the door slides open. Quickly the Gronckle walks into the arena, eying each of us carefully. Gobber steps to the sidelines and blows his whistle sharply. The effect is immediate. The Gronckle sprints at us, his hands already starting to light up. We scatter quickly, each one of us spread out in the arena, facing the Gronckle with our weapons ready.

"Today is about surviving. You get blasted then you get dead. What's the first thing you need?"

"A doctor?" I shout.

"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs suggests.

"A shield," Astrid says, already eying the shield rack.

"Correct! Go!"

The six of us instantly lunge towards the shield racks. Gobber instructs us as we go. "If you are ever in a situation with your weapon or your shield, take the shield!"

The twins, obviously, are fighting over a shield. "That's my shield!" Tuffnut cries, pulling on the shield currently held by him and his sister.

"There's, like, a thousand shields!" Ruffnut yells back.

"Well take that one over there. It has flowers. Girls like flowers."

That hit a nerve. Ruffnut proceeds to whack Tuffnut on the head with the shield. "Oops, now this one has blood on it."

Continuing their game of tug-of-war, they are caught by surprise when the Gronckle shoots a fireball and the shield, knocking them both to the ground. "Ruff, Tuff, you're out!" Gobber calls.

Dazed, they make their way to the sidelines, watching the rest of the training session.

Fishlegs, while the twins were arguing, had managed to grab a shield and run around madly, rapidly screaming "no." The Gronckle turned his attention to the frantic boy. This caused him to become even more frantic. In turn to this, Fishlegs' shield was shot. "Fishlegs, out!"

The boy ran to the sidelines, screaming again.

Astrid stands ready as Snotlout flies past her with Gobber yelling, "Snotlout, out! One shot left!"

I somehow manage to end up right next to Astrid. Adjusting my shield and blade, I glance at her from the corner of my eye. "Just you and me now?" I ask.

"Nope, just you," she says and rolls away. It takes me just a second to process what she said. ' _Oh no._ ' Looking up, I can clearly see the bright ball of fire heading straight towards me. I quickly pull my shield in front of me and promptly have it blasted from my hands. I don't hear Gobber call me out. ' _Gobber, why haven't you called me out yet?_ '

Since, it's either wait or run, I choose the latter and chase after my shield. The Gronckle runs right after me and I can hear the sizzling of fire. "Crap. Gobber!"

"Hiccup!" Gobber shouts.

Just before I can grab my shield, I'm knocked into the wall, pinned against it by the Gronckle. I can see hatred, not towards me, but towards us in general. That's the only thing I register besides the flames.

_Oh man, oh no!_

Suddenly a hammer swings out, smashing the Gronckle to the ground. Gobber drags the Gronckle back to his cell. The door of the cell slides shut and Gobber turns to face us.

"Something for all of you to remember," he tells us. "The Dragon will always, always go for the kill. Meeting tonight in the cafeteria." With this information, each of us departs, exhausted from training. I walk out, a plan already forming.

* * *

 _Maybe he went around here or something._  I stare at the never-ending trees as I follow the direction the Dragon most likely disappeared into.  _But I can't see where he would g-whoa..._  Right in front of me is a rocky opening to something.

Curiosity taking hold of me, I step into the rocky entrance. The sight of what's before me takes my breath away.

It's a cove looking well preserved and undisturbed by the hands of men. A brilliantly clear pond reflecting the sun lies still in the middle of the cove. Rocks build up as the walls with vines growing in and around the walls. Boulders towering near the walls serve as useful steps or sitting spots.

I look around the entrance and at the ground. Something small, a black circuit by the looks of it, catches my eye. I pick it up gingerly.  _Incredibly thin probably used for electrical pulses. It's still slightly warm. It's been in use before. But circuits are usually under the skin. How did it end up here?_ _Did it actually come from the Night Fury?_

My answer comes in a quite unexpected way. Something, or someone, shoots up the wall, scaring me out of my skin. The circuit falls from my hand as I focus on the Dragon scrambling on the walls. It looks strikingly familiar.

I see his eyes and my heart freezes.  _No way._

Bright green irises stare above the cove, never noticing me. He growls as he launches himself from the wall. His arms and torso look worse than before but not by much. The only real noticeable thing is his left leg. It looks terrifyingly painful. It's covered in blood and dirt and some of his circuits are visible. Some even look torn.

I watch him painfully crash to the ground. I cringe.  _I did that_ _to him_ _._  I swallow down my nerves as I silently move to one of the boulders more in the cove. I take my thin frame glasses from my pocket, put them on and use them to get a better look at the damage.  _For sure needs a few new circuits. Some can be easily repaired._

I take my journal and my pencil from my dark green purse. I need to get a few basic designs of the circuits he already has. I have to make this right.

I start drawing. Some circuits are bent out of whack, others are tangled, and a small few are sort of okay. Occasionally, they spark. The circuits are too complicated to be designed easily. Whoever designed these must be a freaking expert.

I notice something else as well. Something on the back of his neck.  _Is that a chip? Oh man, it is!_  It looks like it's in a fair condition. It could use some tweaking to avoid an overflow of electricity.

I hear a faint clank and realize my pencil fell out of my hand.

Of course with the heightened sense of hearing, the Dragon diverts his attention from the pond to me. Our eyes lock and I'm surprised at the lack of hostility. His eyes are filled with curiosity. His head tilts and I mimic him. I notice the menacing clouds in the distance. I point it out to him, mouthing the word "hide" even though I know he won't know what I'm saying. But he has enough sense to know what the menacing clouds mean. He quickly dashes into the cave, disappearing from sight.

* * *

My clothing is soaked by the time I make it the cafeteria. I can hear Gobber instructing before I even open the doors. I let it slide open for my and I slip in quietly. I'm not paid a glance as I grab a bag of chips and a soda. I take my seat near Fishlegs, listening to Gobber asking about what we did wrong in the arena.

"I mistimed my somersault and it was sloppy, throwing off my rollout," Astrid says.

"Yeah, we noticed," Ruffnut remarks sarcastically.

"And Hiccup?" Gobber asks.

"She showed up?" Snotlout teases.

"Didn't get eaten?" Tuffnut adds.

"She got in the way," Astrid mutters.

"I wasn't stealthy enough," I say, looking pointedly at the others. "I didn't use my size and agility to my advantage. I had my hidden blades ready and I could've easily hidden, letting Astrid get the final strike."

"Good analysis, Hiccup," Gobber nods to me. "Now, everyone, I want you to go over the different groups of the Dragons. Learn the marks and their stats. There's no raid tonight so study up."

"You mean, like, read?" Snotlout exclaims. The other teens, besides Fishlegs asks I, let out similar protests. The others leave, Fishlegs giving me a polite wave before he goes. Astrid gives me a simple nod and walks out of the cafeteria.

I now sit by myself with my cell on the table in front of me. "Dragon study," I command. The holographic screen shines above my phone, flipping through various websites and apps until it reaches the Dragon study app. "Let's see here. *Dragon classifications. Strike Class, Fear Class, Mystery Class.

"Thunderdrum: This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight. Timberjack: This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight. Scauldron: Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous. Changewing: Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight. Gronckle, Zippleback, The Skrill, Boneknapper, Whispering Death. Burns its victims, buries its victims, chokes its victims, turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight... hello...

"Night Fury: Speed, unknown. Size, unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you."

_Well guess what, study? It already found me and I happened to still be alive._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *this is quoted directly from the How to Train Your Dragon transcript on the httyd wikia.
> 
> I don't really have any notes to add to this except for the hope of your enjoyment and... stuff.


	4. Peace Offering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took friggin' forever. Sorry 'bout that. Here it is and I hope I didn't disappoint.

**Peace Offering**

"The Deadly Nadder's a comin'!" Gobber shouts as the Nadder is released. Her bob-cut blonde hair gives her a quite intimidating look. The arena is set up like a maze walls that vibrate if you hit them. The Nadder jumps on top of the walls, receiving an aerial view of the arena. We scramble inside the maze with Gobber sitting on the top of the arena.

"Hey, Gobber!" I call to him, standing away from the other teens. "I was looking at the Dragon Study and I noticed that it had nothing about Night Furies. Is the developer going to update the app in some time? Maybe add in something about the Night Fury? Ack!" The Nadder shoots a blast of fire at me which I quickly manage to block with the shield shoved on my forearm.

"Focus, Hiccup! You're not even trying!" He turns his attention to the whole of us. "Today is about ATTACK! These Nadders are quick and light on their feet. You need to be quicker and lighter."

Fishlegs, in passing by the wall behind me, yells as spikes fly into his shield. "I'm  _really_ starting to question your teaching methods!" he shouts.

"Aren't we all?" the rest of us groan. This merely causes giggles to arise from our blond teacher.

"Every Dragon has a blind spot caused by some circuits missing. Each Dragon, however, has different circuits missing so you may have to guess." A chuckle followed by freaked out protests sound in the arena.

I push myself against the wall, observing carefully. The twins, predictably, are in another argument. "Ugh, do you ever bathe?" Ruffnut says disgusted. I guess they found a blind spot but she got stuck behind him.

"If you don't like it, then just get your own blind spot!" comes Tuffnut's reply.

"How 'bout I give you one?"

The next thing I hear is fire being blasted and the twins shouting in fear.

"So, Gobber?" I start again. "Is there any way to sneak up on a Night Fury?"

"No one's ever met one and live to tell the tale," Gobber answers, his head resting on his good hand. "Now get in there!"

I back up very slowly, about to prod just a little more, when I hear Astrid's whispering behind me. "Hiccup, get down!"

She and Snotlout are backed against the wall, both signaling me to do the same. I comply mainly because I haven't really thought about what I'm supposed to be doing. The two sneak around the wall and immediately come face to face with the Deadly Nadder. Snotlout, the cocky son of a gun, decides it would be a good idea to get in front of Astrid and display his arrogance. "Watch out, babe," he says. "I'll take care of this." He then proceeds to throw his hammer and the Dragon. She catches it with ease, chuckling at Snotlout's attempt. The Nadder says something, but thanks to their distorted vocal patterns, it's near impossible to understand what she's saying.

Snotlout has to defend his pride from the look on Astrid's face. "The sun was in my eyes, Astrid! What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could but I don't have time to do that!" He promptly follows her after she takes off after the Nadder who is leaping across the pillars creating the maze.

I watch Astrid attentively. I have faith in her agility, truly I do. But these pillars aren't the best for jumping on. And, as I felt in my gut, Astrid misjudges her jump and starts flying too close to the wall.

I rush in instantly, dropping my shield and sheathing my weapons. We've done this sort of thing before when we were kids. Astrid would (rarely) misjudge a distance and I would fly in to the rescue. I ram her in the side, effectively tackling her and spinning so that I would absorb most of the fall. Her shield and axe fly to the side and she proceeds to go dead weight on me.

She and I are groaning on the ground as the other teens start to walk near us, Gobber coming in the doors to reign in the Nadder. "You good, Astrid?" I ask, gently pushing the blonde off of me.

"Fine," she says back, nodding to me with just the hint of a smile. "Little rusty there, Hiccup."

"Alright, mighty fine teamwork there, lassies," Gobber says. "Class dismissed!"

* * *

"This is so not a good idea..." I mutter, bag slung over my shoulder. The Night Fury, I remember him having me at his mercy yet he didn't kill me like I know any other Dragon would. It's been bugging me for a while and I've decided that I should take lunch to him, like a peace offering or something. I don't even know if this'll work.

 _What about that ringing?_ The thought rams into my brain like a bull. That ringing has been happening for a while with no reason in sight.  _What's the constant?_ That's right. Something that is always there during the ringing in my ears. It's not tinnitus, I can confirm that. I'm always around people and the sound is occasional. It's certainly not an allergic reaction.  _The Dragons, maybe?_

_What do the Dragons have to do with this? It can't be an interference. That would only happen with opposite circuits, like magnets repel if a positive_ _side_ _faces the negative. I'm pretty sure I don't have circuits_ _wired in me_ _; no human does._ _So what the hell?_

The cove entrance shines brightly in the dimmed forest, the sun reflecting off of the center pond. As I get closer to some of the boulders, I can see slight burn marks littering them. So he tried to get out, and in frustration, lit his hands on fire.  _Maybe the broken circuits have something to do with that._

I climb down the boulders, my senses in high alert. With the basic idea of what I'm getting into and the absolute insanity of it, I whistle to grab the Dragon's attention.  _Bad idea, Hic,_ my subconscious says.

A twig snaps behind me.

Immediately, I'm tense. Oh I know he's behind me. I can hear the barely audible breaths, the slight sizzling circuits, the cautious steps. I can just feel the vibrations in my head, nearly distracting me from my objective. So, clearing my throat, I raise my hands and turn to face him, nearly losing my breath as I do.

The Night Fury looks awful. His face is covered in scratches and bruises and just a couple of circuits are visible beneath his jet black hair. His arms aren't any better and neither is his jacket that ties around his waist. Through the tears in his clothing, I can see quite a few injuries and on his left side, some damaged circuits are visible from his skin. His left leg is far worse up close. It's wounded but it looks like it has managed to seal over until further care was given.

 _Shit,_ I think, biting the inside of my cheek.  _I did that. I really need to fix this._ The wariness in his gaze never falters and I can't blame him for that.  _Okay, sandwich time._ Hoping to whoever out there would be watching that I don't get killed on the spot, I slowly and carefully take out the extra sandwich I made. I keep it held out to him, waiting for his move.

He takes one step towards me before he realizes that I have, in fact, come armed. He growls, gazing dangerously at my bag. So, in taking the hint, I slowly reach into the bag, hesitating at the extra growl, and slip out the dagger. It isn't my favorite dagger; just one that I made in the last few hours. I hold it out to my side and drop it to the ground. Apparently that isn't good enough so I fling it into the pond with my foot.

The effect is instantaneous. He relaxes his stance, holding his hands behind his back, his boots clicking together. His eyes relax into their regular oval shape, his lips slip back into its slight, downward curve, and he looks kind of cute.  _Okay, nope,_ I tell myself.  _Not going down that path._

So I try with the sandwich again.

I hold it out to him again, watching as he steps towards me cautiously. In a few steps, he reaches forward and slowly takes the sandwich from me. A narrowed gaze and a sniff later, he opens his mouth for the food in his hands. I expect to see human teeth but I end up seeing none.

"You're toothless..." I mutter. "Why don't you have-aah!" As soon as I say it, human teeth jut out from his gums and he wolfs down the sandwich. Licking his lips appreciatively, he looks at me with curiosity. "Teeth. Right. Got it." He tilts his head, stalking towards me. "No, no, no, no. I, uh, didn't bring any others with me." My ears are filled with a single, high-pitched tone. My back is pressed against one of the fallen boulders as he looks me up and down.

Then he surprises me.

With almost lightning speed, he grabs something from inside the cave and shows it to me, standing a couple of feet away from me. My eyes dart from the thing in his hands, to his bright green eyes, and back to the thing. It looks like a smoked fish; probably a cod.

I bite my lip out of nervousness. I'm not entirely certain but I think he wants me to eat it. He urges the fish to me and I tense when he gently drops the fish into my hands.  _Peace offering..._ He nods at me and the light bulb flickers on in my head. Slowly, I raise the fish and take a cautious bite out of it. I don't know what I expected. It tastes just like the cod I at last night.

My nerves somewhat depleted, I give the Night Fury a small smile. He narrows his eyes curiously, staring at my upturned lips. I nearly take it back until I see him lean back on his heels and attempt to mimic me. It takes a minute but he has a very awkward but adorable smile on his face.

As cool as it is that I have taught a Dragon to smile, I focus on the visible circuits beneath his hairline. Stupidly, I reach a hand out to touch them which results in a growl and the quick sprint away from me.  _Whoops._  Of course, my curiosity getting the better of me, I follow him at a much slower pace.

He's lying on his back in one of the sunnier patch, his jacket under him. His bare arms don't look too bad so that is a small comfort. I sit down next to him and hold a piece of the fish out to him. Watching me closely, he takes the piece from my hand and pops it into his mouth. This continues for a while with he and I picking away at the fish as I wait out the sun, in no hurry to go back to my house. The fish lies on the ground, now picked clean, and I sit on a fallen boulder, drawing in the dirt with a twig.

I don't hear the calm steps of the Night Fury watching my actions over my shoulder but I can feel his breath on my neck. Of course, I am drawing him in the dirt. He watches me draw for a minute before gaining an idea of his own. He steps away and the sound of fire draws my attention. I stare at him holding out his glowing hands. He flashes me his awkward smile as he starts burning the ground. He starts skipping around in some kind of pattern, running into me more than once. I'm too focused on his actions to care, though. Purple, nearly white, fire shoots out of his hands, burning lines in the ground.

He stands quite a few feet away from me, admiring his handiwork. I stand in awe, dropping the twig to the ground. The lines swirl around me, landing at a point in front of the Night Fury. I start to walk forward until a growl stops me in my tracks. My eyes dart to him and down to my feet. I am stepping on one of the lines. I lift my foot, the growl stops. My foot goes on the line, the growls pick up. Off, stop.  _Don't step on the lines._ I step over the line, a curious warble sounds from him. I smirk at him and continue to step over the lines laid out before me. I feel like I'm dancing.

My little dance continues until I feel that same, calm breath on my neck again. My shoulders tense, I turn around, finding myself barely a foot away from the Night Fury. His bright eyes watch my movement.

Those circuits worry me a lot and I try to reach out and touch them. Like the first time, he growls but not as loudly. I pull my hand back, my mind trying to come up with a plan. As one pops up, I close my eyes and duck my head, holding my hand out in front of me. A few tense seconds later, a warm hand grasps mine in return.

Then, all of a sudden, the ringing stops. No stuttering. Just a simple, fading echo resonating in my ears. With my heart now in my throat, I raise my eyes to meet his. No hostility, just a simple, unspoken agreement. His grip tightens a fraction before he releases my hand and dashes off to his cave. My eyes follow him, even if I can't see him. A smile passes my lips as I flick my bangs out of my eyes.

_Come back tomorrow and help me out._


	5. The Night Fury's Hover-Board

**The Night Fury's Hover-Board**

The sound of an alarm is enough to literally startle me out of bed, which is unfortunate considering I sleep in a loft bed. And with my level of skill, I manage to jump up and over the wooden railing and fall onto the walnut flooring. Takes skill.

“Stupid thing,” I mutter against the floor. I programmed my alarm clock to be a holographic target against my wall. The only way to shut it off is to hit the bull's eye or at least the ring around it. I use one of my practice daggers for this since I don't want to risk breaking any of my good ones. Being able to throw the dagger to hit the bull's eye with a very loud alarm distracting you is actually quite challenging. It takes a few times before I start to get frustrated. I've gone to school with a bag of anger or exhaustion under my belt. Now, with all of the practice I've gotten, I can hit the center in three throws tops.

With the blaring still filling my room, I push myself up off the floor and slip the dagger out from under my pillow. I don't really feel like throwing the dagger so I just run at the target and stab the bull's eye with my dagger. The alarm stops instantly.

I drag my hand down my face. “Time and temperature?” I yank the dagger out of the wall and toss it into the corner.

“8:03 am,” my computer program tells me. “40 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“Well, that's not horrible.”

\- - -

I sit at my desk settled under my bed, a pile of components organized in shelves across my room. I took those from the blacksmiths. My mission is to fix the Night Fury's circuits but I need to know how the work. _I should probably start with trying to recreate those circuits. That should give me a better understanding of the way they work._ I take out my journal and flip to the page where I had drawn the circuits. Yes, I could use the more secure and advanced journals I have in my desk, but an old-fashioned leather journal feels oddly satisfying.

The circuits look like just any other computer cord. I suppose that they give their “dragon” effect using that computer chip. From a wild guess, the chip may give off electric signals. Some signals may be used to allow them to shoot fire from their hands. Different wiring gives different types of fire.

I tap the center of the desk to give me the pop up screens. “Dragon computer chips and circuits,” I say to my computer. A quick loading screen later, I have four windows open regarding the computer chip and circuits. If I get an understanding of the chip, I can understand how to rewire the circuits.

I open up a 3d figure of the computer chip. I separate each atom-thick layer, spinning it more than enough times. One of them is described as the flight control. It says that when necessary, it allows the Dragon to manipulate the gravity around them, but only for a certain amount of time. _So that's how they do their whole gliding thing._

The next one is the blood control. Since their systems are wired with circuits connecting to the chip like nerves to the brain, their blood needs to work a certain way. Their blood has to not interfere with the circuits as much as possible. Too much interference could probably cause burns from the inside or clots. If that part is damaged, blood could seep into any damaged circuits and cause malfunctions. If there is a large wound on the surface, then whatever is remaining of the circuits can scab over like all humans but it won't heal unless the circuits are fixed. That Night Fury is incredibly lucky.

Then a few layers later is the voice. It connects to circuits in the vocal chords that disrupt the Dragon's vocal patterns. How the Dragons talked soon became their own language and they eventually forgot human speech.

The rest of it is basic survival and ability to work alongside the human body. The circuits and computer chip works the same way the human nervous system does. I can most likely solder the circuits and get them to reconnect. I probably can replace some of the damaged circuits, too. But that leg worries me. In all of this advanced technology, his leg will be the challenge.

\- - -

An idea had plowed into my head as I was getting out my hover-board. The Night Fury's leg is most likely going to prohibit his ability to fly. So what if I could give his flight back, but in my way. So that is how I ended up building a hover-board with a leg brace the approximate length of the Dragon's leg. The brace would allow him to still move his leg but keep as much pressure off it as possible. The hover-board is black like mine but doesn't have any of my green highlights. The controlling is a lot easier to understand and I should, maybe, be able to teach him how to use it.

\- - -

I step into the cove, a full lunch from Chick-fil-A in my hands along with the hover-boards and a bag full of necessary tools and first aid packed into my sling backpack. My beanie keeps trying to slip off my head. I have an idea of how to fix those visible circuits. They still looked to be repairable and they could still be reconnected. It will most likely be painful but it should pay off in the long run.

 _So, I don't know if he has a name,_ I tell myself as I step through a boulder pathway. _Should I just call him something until he can tell me otherwise? Sheesh, like what?_ An idea sparks and I laugh under my breath. _Oh man, I hope he doesn't fire at me for calling him this._

As my eyes land on the sun-bathing Night Fury, I start whistling. “Hey, Toothless!” I say carefully, stepping towards him. He starts to push himself slowly off the ground. “I've got food and I think I have a way of patching you up.”

His attention is on me, or more like the food in my hands. So I give him the bag of food and sit by his side. He gives a small growl. “Don't worry,” I tell him. “I just need to look at your circuits.” _RIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGG_

I think he stops listening when I hear him rustling around in the bag, probably interested in the fries. With his diverted attention, I examine the visible circuits. None need replacing here. Just some quick soldering. _Easy fix._ I take out my liquid flux pen, trying to figure out which circuit to start with.

I pinch one of them between my fingers and get to work. As I go along, I can feel him tensing every now and then or letting out a small growl. Despite this, he lets me continue until all of the circuits on his left side, save for his leg, are fixed and slipped back into their spot under his skin. The same goes for the small circuits beneath his hairline. The skin starts to heal, leaving behind faint scars.

His clothing I can worry about later. I need to focus on the leg.

I clean it as much as I can, trying to ignore the slight hisses coming from Toothless. As I wrap it in gauze, the scabs fall off revealing his repaired skin but not all of it's done. I keep the gauze on it anyway. The circuits I repaired must be connected to the blood control layer.

He warbles something to me. I sigh, remembering the vocal disruption. “Toothless, I can't understand you.”

He stares at me, tilting his head in confusion. I don't know whether he can understand me. Instead of warbling, he grabs my hand like he did yesterday. The ringing cuts off. And after holding my hand for a moment, he slowly lets go, as if testing something. The high pitch stays off. _What the hell?_ _There's no way he knew about that._

With a nod, he looks and points to the hover-boards laying on the ground a couple of feet from us. “Oh!” I lean over and take the hover-boards into my lap. I glance between him and the hover-boards nervously. “I have no idea if you can actually understand me so this is going to be difficult.” His eyes hold curiosity so I go off on a limb and say he can. “This is a hover-board. It's one of my personal creations. It works by your leaning and pressure applied by your feet. It allows us to fly like you guys. I made one for you 'cause I think your leg there may keep you from flying. That's why this one has a leg brace. It should keep you from hurting your leg while up in the air. When you step on this, you don't need to worry. It's covered in a sort of magnetic coat that keeps you from falling off. Now, you need to-” He takes the braced hover-board from me and inspects it for himself. He holds it up, rotating it left and right, up and down.

He then places it on the ground in front of him and lifts his leg hesitantly. He taps it on the brace a few times, as if expecting it to swallow his leg. He lifts his head to me at my chuckle. “Let me help you,” I tell him as I stand myself up. I grab his hand and pull him to his feet. I let him lean against me as keeps his foot off the ground. “Watch.” I lift my leg and wait for him to mimic me. Then I put my foot down right next to the brace, point to his leg and to the brace. He gets the message and slowly slips his leg into the brace. Of course, I give him some help when his foot nearly gets stuck in the brace.

I smile at him as he steps on the hover-board with his other foot. He shoots me a nervous look. “Good. Now, you need to know how to control it. To rise into the air you've gotta- Toothless!” He got slightly nervous and instead of stepping off, he tapped his foot a couple of times and that got him to rise into the air. Then he panicked and leaned forward and started speeding off.

Glad that I brought my own, I jump onto mine and follow him as he speeds through the air. “Toothless, lean back!” He doesn't seem to hear me as he suddenly dives down back to the cove. I follow suit and end up flying just behind him. I can see him fiddling with the brace. Soon enough, just as he starts passing over the pond, he manages to pull the brace off the hover-board with his leg still in it! He starts falling towards the pond, eventually skidding on its surface. I start floating down to the ground as he shakes the water from his hair. I try not to burst out laughing at the scene. _Now he really needs new clothes._

“Are you alright?” I ask, stepping off the hover-board. He looks over to me with an expression of confusion and slight annoyance. “Right. Come here. I need your measurements so I can make you new clothes.” He trudges out of the pond with the brace still on his leg but the gauze has fallen off. I don't know what surprised me more. The fact that the brace is the still on his leg or that he yanked it clean off the hover-board. He follows me as I walk to my bag to take out my measuring tape.

It doesn't take long for me to take down his measurements. His leg surprises me. Completely healed except for a few scars left behind. “Toothless, I'll be back in a little bit. I'm gonna get you some new clothes and then I can teach you how to use the hover-board.”

\- - -

Obviously, teaching him how to use a hover-board is going to take some time since he honestly has no clue what to do. I'm glad I waited until we were done with hover-board teaching to give him his clothes. They look pretty much the same as his other ones. So after that, I told him I would come back tomorrow afternoon, ready to try again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the end sucked, I know. I kind of had no idea how to end it so this happened. I've got a bit of Hiccup Toothless bonding

**Author's Note:**

> [1] I looked up all of that information on the httyd wikia. Since this is in a futuristic time period, I thought it would be a good idea to have her know the different fire types.
> 
> So I hope you guys enjoyed that. Like I said, this is just an idea and it's up to you to decide whether or not I should continue this. These stories are for you guys, anyway. I'm just writing them for fun.
> 
> Also, if anyone could help me with a cover picture for this story, I would greatly appreciate it. My art skills suck.
> 
> That's all for now and I hope to see you soon! =^v^=


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